Last time we chatted way back in issue 8, internet mischief makers Bluejuice, confirmed what we had all suspected for a while now. Yes, Neil Diamond – the “fucking cheeseball”, as it was so eloquently put last time – will fuck your daughter if he can. I can’t help but wonder whether today’s interview will yield a similar level of wisdomosity. I begin by asking Stav about the upcoming Purple Sneakers New Year’s Eve party, which, of course, Bluejuice will be playing at.

Photography by Diana Carniato

“It’ll be pretty sweet,” he says. “It’s a cool line up. There’s a whole bunch of bands that we like playing with and, you know, like the music of. So it’s an ace party to be at.” Not that partying at New Years is usually his scene. “Man, I just like to get away with mates. I don’t need to be spending New Years with a whole bunch of crazy freaks. But it seems that this year that’s exactly what I will be doing!” In fact, it’s what they’ve been doing for the last few years now.

“We played Peats Ridge two years ago. Last year we were at Pyramid Rock and then we played on New Year’s Day at the Espy. So I actually had New Years Eve off and was in an eco-village on Phillip Island and I watched some penguins come into shore and then I ate so many things that my head almost fell off.”

So many “things” eh! Damn hippies.

As far as memories from back in the day go, one in particular stands out.

“I think I saw like Fatboy Slim in like ’99 to 2000 on Bondi. I think I even kissed my second girlfriend the next day for the first time and I was stoked man. So. Stoked. But umm, yeah, it feels like forever since I’ve actually been in Sydney for New Years Eve. But this year we’re running around like crazy. We’re doing Falls and Peats and Purple Sneakers and then Southbound in Perth over those like four or five days. So there’s gonna be some partying and some travelling and some fucking weary asess.”

“Actually we’re a pretty fucking tame band when it comes to partying. Like, I think that out of every 100 gigs, we’ll go out and party like 10 times. So, I dunno man, I’m too old for that shit!”

So are the guys taking a break before their crazy run this New Years? Not really. As far as bands go, they work pretty bloody hard. They’re playing at Homebake, where they’re playing their first mainstage at a “big, big” festival, as Stav puts it.With all this New Years related experience behind him, I wonder whether Stav have any advice for the younguns celebrating their first ever new years away from home. It turns out he does. And in three concise points too; which is nice.

“1. Eat so much that your head almost falls off, but doesn’t actually fall off. Your parents want you in the same format that they left you in the night before. 2. Kiss someone of the same or opposite sex. 3. In relation to point 2, ensure that you are close to a person of the same or opposite sex that you find attractive, at about 11.59pm on the 31st of December. That’s critical.”Thanks Stav. Duly noted!As far as plans for 2009 go, it’s a matter of no rest for the wicked apparently. Bluejuice will be back in the studio to record the second album in January, and will “definitely be putting out something next year.” And Stav refuses point blank to spill the beans on any new and awesometastic videos that may or may not be in the pipeline. “I wouldn’t tell anyone outside of the band bro! But yeah, I think there will be some shit coming up: definitely!”